Insurance is a domain that is emotionally driven by the thought — “what if something bad happens?” People have the need towards securing one-self and loved ones but the technical and legal terms can be very daunting and confusing for the users.
I set up the following guidelines to help me design better for an insurance-specific domain.
Simplifying Decision Making
Purchasing Insurance: users have a pre-conceived notion that insurance is complicated. This becomes a bigger challenge for users who have an interest in buying insurance online. They approach the idea of purchasing insurance online with high anxiety, these users are distracted as they toggle between pages to search answers for -
- Which plan is right for me?
- What coverage should I look for in a plan?
- Expert reviews, articles, and information that helps with decision making
- Comparing costs between plans and/or brands
Features and UX nudges I applied to help with decision making:
- Use tooltips where terms could be confusing
- Assistant bots and/or customer support to help answer queries
- Highlight recommended plans. State why the plan is recommended.
- Make the price visually prominent.
- Display discounts and offers upfront on the plan page.
- Aid users by providing FAQ sections on relevant pages.
- Provide clear indicators highlighting the differences between plans
- Add trust marker. Examples below
1️⃣ For a new insurance company try building trust on companies brand.
- Social Proof — Trusted by 20 million users,
- Awards won — Winner of Top Insurance company in Asia
- Celebrity or Popular person recommending the brand.
2️⃣If old
- Show the number of claims the company provided.
- Show how the company aided people in need. drive with USP.
- Transparency in the process of claim.
Empathy
Claims: Claims can be more anxiety-driven since the user's assumption of something bad has come true. In this case, identify.
- What do users need at that moment?
- Which claim situation required emergency aid vs which can be self-served. Customize user journeys for both situations.
- Identify when to comfort users vs being to the point to provide relevant information and aid.
Simplify Content For Consumption
Research showed, one of the major fears users have is going through the technical words used in the T&C document. Quoting a participant from the research — “If I miss read anything now, I will have to pay its brunt during claim”. Thus making UX writing a challenging design problem and also key to the product experience.
Changes we made to improve the user experience:
- Use visuals, illustrations, and videos to make content consumption easy
- Use storytelling to explain concepts. Keep it short and clear.
- Help users scan faster by highlighting important information
- Use bullet points to help with faster scanning.
- Keep tone and communication consistent across the product experience (pre & post-purchase experience, Online & Offline medium)
- Transparency and simplicity in communication. This will help build trust.
Make Experience Delightful and Fun
Insurance can be a serious and boring activity. Adding delight will help reduce the cognitive load on users and also help ease anxiety. Insurance at its core has other attributes that are underplayed such as a sense of security and confidence (powerful emotions). Identifying and tapping into these emotions in the journey can help create a strong bond between the user and the brand/product.
Key Takeaways :
- Handhold users with relevant information and nudge throughout the journey
- Simplify Content For Consumption
- Make experience delightful and fun
Insurance is fear-driven, historically companies have used this fear to drive business. We as designers decided to take a different path and worked towards building a sense of security and trust around the brand
